Australia Merger Control Thresholds 2026

Last checked against the official text on 15 October 2026. Authority: Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC).

Current thresholds

Who reviews, and is notification mandatory

Acquisitions in Australia are reviewed by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) under the merger notification provisions of the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (Cth). The regime applies to acquisitions put into effect on or after 1 January 2026 (ss 10-1 and 10-6(1) of the Determination).

The regime is mandatory and suspensory. Under the Act, a person contravenes section 45AY by putting a stayed acquisition into effect, and section 45AZA provides that an acquisition put into effect in contravention of section 45AY is void. The monetary thresholds are set by the Determination, a legislative instrument made by the Minister under the Act; the notification circumstances are determined under subsection 51ABP(1).

The notification circumstances in force

Every circumstance below also requires that the shares or assets acquired are connected with Australia, and none applies to an acquisition covered by one of the exceptions in Division 2 of Part 2 of the Determination. Each figure is a floor: the test is met at the amount shown or above. Revenue means Australian revenue, which s 1-8 defines as the gross revenue for the most recently ended 12-month reporting period attributable to transactions or assets within Australia or transactions into Australia.

Large merged firm (s 2-1). The acquirer side and the target together have Australian revenue of at least AUD 200 million, and either the acquired shares or assets carry Australian revenue of at least AUD 50 million, or the transaction value is at least AUD 250 million. Transaction value is the greater of the market value of what is acquired and the consideration.

Very large acquirer (s 2-2). The acquirer group has Australian revenue of at least AUD 500 million, and the acquired shares or assets carry Australian revenue of at least AUD 10 million.

Creeping or serial acquisitions (s 2-3). Acquisitions by the principal party or its connected entities in the previous 3 years, relating to the same or substitutable goods or services, are counted together with the current one. The accumulated acquired Australian revenue must be at least AUD 50 million where the combined revenue test is met, or at least AUD 10 million where the very large group test is met. The acquisition must also not satisfy the Determination's small acquisition test.

Asset acquisitions (s 2-4, applying from 1 April 2026). For acquisitions of assets that do not amount to all or substantially all of a business, there are two routes: the combined revenue test at AUD 200 million (which the ACCC's threshold summary describes, for these asset acquisitions, as the acquirer group's Australian revenue) together with a transaction value of at least AUD 200 million, or the very large group test at AUD 500 million together with a transaction value of at least AUD 50 million.

Exceptions and indexation

Division 2 of Part 2 of the Determination removes certain acquisitions from the notification requirement. The headings of those provisions cover certain land and quasi-land acquisitions, external administration, financial market infrastructure, financial securities, debt instruments and money lending, nominees and trustees, acquisitions by operation of law, and acquisitions by superannuation entities. Their conditions are detailed; read the provision before treating a transaction as outside the regime.

Under s 7-1 of the Determination, the revenue and transaction value amounts are indexed on the first day of each calendar year starting on or after 1 January 2027, using an indexation factor based on the GDP implicit price deflator. The figures on this page are those in force from 2026.

What changed in 2026

The Determination was registered on 30 June 2025 and amended by the Competition and Consumer (Notification of Acquisitions) Amendment (2025 Measures No. 1) Determination 2025, registered on 18 December 2025. The compilation read for this page applies the amended text to acquisitions put into effect on or after 1 January 2026, except that the asset acquisition circumstance in s 2-4, added by the amending Determination, and the voting power classes in Division 2 of Part 3 apply to acquisitions put into effect on or after 1 April 2026 (s 10-6(2) and (3)).

What this page does not cover

This page does not cover the ACCC's filing fees, the phase 1 and phase 2 review timelines, the small acquisition test amount, the additional notification classes in Part 3 of the Determination (major supermarkets and certain voting power changes), voluntary notification, the connection-with-Australia test in detail, the substantive test, notification waivers, Tribunal review, or the separate foreign investment screening rules. Those figures and rules are published by the ACCC and in the legislation; confirm them there.

Changes log

• 15 October 2026: Page published. Figures checked against the Federal Register of Legislation compilation F2026C00002 of the Determination.
• 1 April 2026: Asset acquisition circumstance (s 2-4), added by the 2025 amending Determination, begins to apply to acquisitions put into effect on or after this date. The voting power classes in Division 2 of Part 3 also begin to apply from this date (s 10-6(3)).
• 1 January 2026: Mandatory merger notification regime begins for acquisitions put into effect on or after this date.

Frequently asked questions

What are the Australian merger notification thresholds in 2026?

For acquisitions put into effect from 1 January 2026, the large merged firm circumstance applies where combined Australian revenue is at least AUD 200 million and either the acquired Australian revenue is at least AUD 50 million or the transaction value is at least AUD 250 million. The very large acquirer circumstance applies where the acquirer group has Australian revenue of at least AUD 500 million and the acquired Australian revenue is at least AUD 10 million. Separate rules cover serial acquisitions and asset acquisitions.

Is Australian merger notification mandatory and suspensory?

Yes, under the regime in force since 1 January 2026: putting a stayed acquisition into effect contravenes section 45AY of the Competition and Consumer Act 2010, and an acquisition put into effect in contravention of that section is void under section 45AZA.

Are earlier acquisitions counted towards the thresholds?

For creeping or serial acquisitions, acquisitions in the previous 3 years involving the same or substitutable goods or services can be added up. The accumulated acquired Australian revenue limbs are AUD 50 million and AUD 10 million, depending on which revenue test is met.

Is there a separate test for asset acquisitions?

Yes, from 1 April 2026, for assets that are not all or substantially all of a business: a transaction value of at least AUD 200 million with the combined revenue test, or at least AUD 50 million with the very large group test.

Related

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